Effect of surface nanocrystallization on abrasive wear properties in Hadfield steel

A nanocrystalline surface layer was synthesized on a Hadfield steel by shot peening treatment. The microstructure evolvement of the surface layer of the shot peening treated sample was characterized by optical microscopy, X-ray diffraction and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. It has been shown that the grain sizes in surface layer were decreased to 11.1–17.4 nm after 60 min shot peening duration. Surface hardness was also increased greatly. Two- and three-body abrasive wear experiments were carried out for work hardening and original specimens, separately. The results showed that the wear resistance of the nanocrystallized Hadfield steel has distinctly been improved in case of soft particles used as two-body wear abrasives or light impact load applied for impact abrasive wear.